We Sappers with common interests before the War, Forged a bond of comradeship during the War, Created our association so that now, As long as we are one, Not one of us will be alone, Before, During, Now, We will remember those, Whose names lie in our Hall.

1943

Well before the end of the War, anticipating a post-war
depression and consequently unemployment, certain senior officers evolved the
idea an organisation to help re-habilitate members of the Corps on their return
to civilian life. The Old Comrades
Association was formally recognised as a Welfare Organisation on 22 November,
being given the number WO 314. The inital subscribtion was £3:1:0 for life, payable over a period.

1944

On
8 February, a formal constitution was adopted and the name was to the less
cumbersome and more apt “Sappers Association”

On
7 December, the first issue of the “SA Sapper”, a magazine that was to be
published for more that 50 years, was issued free to all Association Members.

1945

On 7 June, the Western Province Branch in Cape Town was
formed, thefirst of many branches to be formed throughout the
Union (R.S.A.), S.W.A. (Namibia) and the Rhodesia’s (Zambia and Zimbabwe),
under the Constitution of the parent body.

On 1 July, “Sappersrust”, an area of land on the north
bank of the Magalies River (which flows into the Hartebeespoort Dam – near
Pretoria) was acquired and became known as Sappersrust. Soon a fully equipped camp was set up, where
Sappers who had been demobbed from the army were accommodated while being
integrated back into a post-war society.

On 14 September, a split-pole and thatch shop, built
near the river, was opened with a general dealers licence and served tea, cakes
and sweets to enthusiastic Sappers who braved the dirt road to Sappersrust.

1946

On 1 June, the first General Meeting of the Sappers
Association (affectionately known as “Congress”) was held to elect the first
non-military Board of Directors.
Subsequent Congresses, consisting of Sappers representing the Branches
throughout the Country, have meet annually to receive reports of Sapper
activity during the year and to elect new Directors to deal with matters of
policy.

As the initial roll for Sappersrust had been
completed it was decided that these grounds should continue to be the focal
point for Sappers veterans and that a club for our members would be established
on these grounds. On 16 December, the
first permanent structure, a cottage consisting of 3 linked rondavels was
opened as a dining room serving simple meals to Sunday visitors.

1947

On 4 December, the first nine rondavels and their
communal ablution blocks were taken into use to accommodate the Sappers and
their families that were to build the clubhouse and the luxury cottages (with
individual bathrooms and hot running water) that were to follow.

1948

At Congress on 2 May it was decided to compile a
Roll of Honour of the S.A.E.C. to remember those Sappers that had paid the
final price in the defence of their country and its ideals.

Work on the Clubhouse started and on 12 December
Field-Marshal Smuts laid the Foundation Stone.

1949

On 23 June, the “Sappers Club” was constituted and
on 26 November General Ken Ray, the first President of the Club, formally
opened the Sappers Clubhouse. The
attractive two-story thatched building had been built by Sappers and Sapper
orientated firms at nominal cost.

1950 / 51

Permission was granted to enshrine the S.A.E.C. Roll
of Honour in St Paul’s Cathedral in London, together with the other
Commonwealth Rolls (Not only Engineers) of both the 1914/18 and 1939/45
Wars. It was felt that a duplicate book
should be kept in South Africa and on 3 September 1950 the designs for the Hall
of Remembrance, the books resting place, at Sappersrust was approved.

On 10 December 1950, the first sod was turned on the
site chosen on a koppie, backed by the noble Magaliesburg and over-looking the
river valley. The building of the Hall
was entrusted to a dedicated Sapper stonemason, who lived and worked on the
spot for 18 months.

On 15 April 1951, Sapper JC McIntyre laid the
foundation stone and underneath the stone, set in concrete is a sealed copper
casket with a S.A.E.C. cap badge welded on the lid, containing a microfilm of
contemporary records, photos of drawings and plans of the memorial, extracts
from the SA Sapper magazine and other mementos.

1952

At Congress on 4 May, the Sapper Creed that heads
this brief history was adopted and has since been used to open all Congress,
Board and Branch meetings.

The Congress was followed by a dedication ceremony
for the Hall of Remembrance and the Roll of Honour was reverently placed in the
casket where is still resided today.
Thereafter, every year on the first Sunday of May, an anniversary
ceremony (Annual Memorial Service) is held to honour the event and remember
fallen comrades.

Every Sunday Morning at half past Nine a simple
ceremony is performed during which a page of the roll is turned and a short
silence observed. This has been done
without break and still continues, every Sunday.

1953

An internal battery-illuminated lamp, built into an old
petrol can, and carrying the symbol of the Association was approved and has been
used since as part of the ritual opening of formal meetings.

1956

On 10 October, Sapperspriut was officially opened as a
holiday resort with 3 Cottages and a renovated farm house for the Caretaker,
where Sappers could enjoy swimming, fishing and drives into the surrounding
country, for very reasonable costs.

1963

On 9 March, Sappershoek was officially opened as a
holiday resort with Cottages and a communal hall to be the home of the Eastern
Cape Branch. Several retired Sappers
were accepted as semi-permanent residents.
This resort was later to be converted into a retirement centre with 26
cottages in line with the changing needs of Sappers in general.

In the early 60’s it was recognised that the years were
passing and the need for looking after our ageing and retired Sappers would
become No 1 priority eventually. The
Sappers Creed was supplemented by adding the concept of “easing the burdens and
brightening the lives of all our Sappers, as they grow older” – which thought
adopted in 1977 as a pledge to form the closing ritual of all formal meeting of
the Association.

1964

“Nine Flames” – The SAEC Story, was completed and
published, authored by a well-known and experienced journalist and author,
supported by 78 Sapper sponsors, he delved into all available records and put
on tape individual experiences and reminiscences from Sappers all over the
Country. This publication is still
available from our Head Office at Sappersrust.

1973

The thought of caring for our older Sappers had been
taking hold more over the past few years and in 1970 a combined committee was
elected from the Sappers Association, the Gunners and the Southern Transvaal
MOTHs to develop a retirement centre in Johannesburg. On 22 September, ‘G.E.M. Homes” was
officially opened in Rooseveldpark, in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg,
with 16 Flats, 68 Cottages, an office and a communal hall.

1982

“Sapperhaven” was officially opened as a retirement
centre for the Johannesburg Sappers, in Lombardy East also a northern suburb of
Johannesburg, with 120 Cottages and a communal hall.

1985

“GEM Village” was officially opened, as a joint venture
retirement centre with the Gunners, in Irene in the southern suburbs of
Pretoria with 19 Double Cottages, 12 Single Cottages, 36 Single Flats, 43
Double Flats and a communal hall.

1988

“Sappersglen” was officially opened as a retirement
centre for the Sappers of the Natal South Coast with 23 Cottages and a communal
hall.

1992

A second Roll of Honour is placed in the casket in the
Memorial Hall to honour those who have dies on active service protecting and
upholding the ideals of the Republic of South Africa.

1994

With the change of the constitution of the Republic of
South Africa, the election of the first fully representative government and the
formation of the New South African National Defence Force, the Sappers
Foundation recognises the sacrifices made by the non-statutory and the homeland
defence forces and votes to allow these military engineers full recognition in
the Sappers Association.

1997

We as Sappers can be proud of our Association, as it has
survived and prospered for more than fifty years. We should feel a special pride that we have
had the guts to admit that we are slowly sinking away due to dwindling
membership and rising costs and took the necessary steps to ensure that what
was started in the heat of battle would continue and would hold high the memory
of the Military Engineer into the 21st Century.

The National Board Meeting, held on 1 November 1997 is
hailed as the turning point for the Sappers Association, which had been in
decline for a decade. At this meeting
the Sappers Association started its transformation to its new form, that of a
Foundation for the preservation of Military Engineering Culture, History and
Traditions called the “Sappers Foundation”.

We had to accept that certain of the projects of the old
Sappers Association would not be carried forward but the Directors pledged
themselves to retain as many of these as possible, to preserve the traditions
and symbols and to ensure that none of our members are alienated by the change
process.

1998

The Sappers Foundation is registered and the control of
the Sappers Association and all its Retirement Centres and Projects is
transferred to the Board of Directors of the Sappers Foundation.

1999

Due to dwindling membership and the general ageing of the
infrastructure, it was decided to close the Sappers Club and sell this portion
of the property and buildings into a joint venture development company (Herons
Nest) who could raise the funds needed for the rising costs of maintenance and
upgrading necessary to be able to run the resort as a Conference Centre and
River Lodge.

2001

The decision was taken to separate the Retirement Centres
into Section 21 Companies that would be self-sufficient and would ensure the
continuation of these long after the last veteran Sapper has passed to higher
service as a memorial to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their
Country.

2002

A Memorial Trust was formed to preserve the Hall of Remembrance
and the Memorial Gardens into perpetuity and a new head office was built for
the Sappers Foundation on the Memorial Grounds including a home for the
“Sappers Heritage Collection”, overnight accommodation for visiting Sappers,
and a general meeting and recreational area.

With the decreasing numbers in the Association and with
Sapperspriut no longer being used by Sappers it was decided to sell the
property and to use the funds to ensure the continued existence of our
Retirement Centre projects.

The Board of Directors decided that the joint venture
development company (Herons Nest) was not viable and should be liquidated with
the remaining funds donated to the Sappers Memorial Trust.

2003

The remainder Sappersrust, after the sale of the Sappers
Club / Herons Nest property, was transferred into the Sappers Memorial Trust to
be utilised to supplement the income of the Trust and has been leased on a
long-term basis for a sum greater that the current upkeep costs.

We pledge ourselves to ease the burdens and brighten the lives of all our members, as they grow older.